Overview

The Rappaport House was the home of Jewish immigrant and entrepreneur Edward Rappaport and his family.

• Location: 636 Elwood Avenue North
• Neighborhood: Near North

Historic profile

The Rappaport House was the home of Jewish immigrant and entrepreneur Edward Rappaport and his family. Edward Rappaport founded the Northwestern Auto Parts Company. The house has a vernacular design with Colonial Revival, Prairie, and Craftsman influences. Edward Rappaport and his wife, Gusty, lived here with their children from 1924 to 1946.

Edward and Gusty immigrated separately from Romania and met in Detroit. By 1908, they had moved to Minneapolis. At that time, Jewish people faced a lot of discrimination. They were barred from many neighborhoods and careers. Edward was working as a junk peddler when he started to collect damaged cars. He took them apart and resold the parts, forming the Northwestern Auto Parts Company. Gusty worked as the bookkeeper for the business. The success of the new company enabled the family to buy the house in 1924. The house had been built in 1912 for Abraham S. Oleisky.

In 1926, Rappaport hired the firm Jewell-Emerson to design the company's first store. The company grew rapidly. By 1945, the company was manufacturing its own parts and rebuilding vehicles. It had a sprawling campus on the Northside before later moving to the suburbs. In 1955, the company became NAPCO Industries, Inc.

NAPCO was very successful at a time when auto parts were not standard and car companies turned over often. The company expanded internationally and by 1964 had branches in 32 other countries. The Rappaport children and grandchildren later went on to lead the company. They were active members of several local Jewish and community organizations.